Developments in Brief : Leprosy Drug Tested by Global Agency
The World Health Organization has begun testing a leprosy vaccine that it hopes will limit the spread of the disease and eventually eliminate it.
The vaccine is being tested in Malawi and Venezuela, and other trials are being planned, the United Nations agency said. Results are expected to be available in 5 to 10 years.
There are an estimated 10 million to 12 million cases of the disease in Asia, Africa and Latin America, but “only a fraction are under regular and effective treatment,” the organization noted.
The first anti-leprosy drug, Dapsone, was developed in the 1950s, but the bacteria causing the disease became resistant to it. Leprosy is a chronic disease that results in the formation of nodules or blotches that enlarge and spread, causing paralysis and deformities.
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